Hood for automobiles and other vehicles



Aug. 27, 1929. F. J. LEATHER HOOD FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES Filed Nbv. 8, 1926 Patented Aug. 2?, 1929.

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PATENT FELIX JOHN LEATHER, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

HOOD FOR AUTOMOBILES AND OTHER VEHICLES.

Application filed November 8, 1926, Serial No. 147,124, and in Great Britain November 16, 1.925.

This invention relates to hoods for automobile and other vehicles of the kind in which cant rails are secured to the body of the vehicle, extending from the rear to the front thereof, and particularly to hoods of the kind in which a plurality of hood sticks forming a support for a flexible covering material are provided, as described in the specifications of U. S. applications Nos. 14:7,123, 147,125 and 147,126, filed Nov. 8, 1926.

On aesthetic grounds it is desirable to arrange the cant rails directly above the sides of the body, and on similar grounds it is desirable that the hood when lowered shall be housed within the body or, at least, when lowered shall not overhang'the rear panel.

The invention is concerned with the means associated with the rear stay or hood stick forming the support for the material at the rear angle of the hood, whereby the hood stick is caused to move about a point which moves forward and downward when the hood is lowered in order to decrease the projection of the said hood stick in an outward direction 7 beyond the cant rails when the hood is in the lowered position, the hood stick being pivotally connected at each of its lower ends to one end of a lever, the other end of which is pivotally connected to a fixed point on the body below and behind the pivotal connection of the hood stick with the lever when the hood is raised.

Conveniently the rear stay or hood stick comprises a bowed portion to which adjacent to either extremity thereof are slidably connected straight extensions, each of the said extensions being connected at its lower end with one end of a lever pivotally mounted in the manner above described, and means are provided whereby the bowed port-ion is caused to move relatively to the said extensions toward or away from, as the case may be, the pivotal connections of the latter in lowering or raising the hood.

According to this feature of the invention p the slidable connection between the bowed portion and its extensions may be secured by providing in the bowed portion adjacent to each of its extremities a pin engaging a slot in the adjacent end of one of the extensions and a pin in the latter engaging a slot in the former while with each extremity of the bowed portion a rack may be associated adapted to engage pinions on the shoes connecting the rear hood stick with the cant rail, said pinions being arranged to engage also racks on the cant rails in such manner that in raising or erecting the hood the motion of the rear hood stick about its pivot causes the pinions to travel over the racks on the cant rails and such motion also causes the pinio-ns, owing to their engagement with the racks on the bowed portion, to move the said portion in an outward direction relatively to the extensions When raising and to move the same in an inward direction when lowering the hood.

Means are preferably provided adapted to ensure that the toothed pinion associated with the hood stick shall engage and be disengaged from the rack member at the appropriate times'in other words, to ensure that the same tooth of the pinion will engage a particular tooth of each of the racks whenever the hood is raised or lowered.

Thus, in accordance with the invention, a guide arranged substantially parallel with and spaced apart from the low-er rear portion of the cant rail is provided, the guide being furnished with a suitably formed surface adapted to secure the desired location of the pinion relatively to the rack provided on the cant rail.

On the cant rail a guide member is preferably provided, the guiding surface of this member being arranged parallel with a portion of-the curved surface of the cant rail. This last-mentioned guide member is con veniently of L section while'the means on the hood stick co-operating with the guiding surface may be a pin or roller.

Figure 1 illustrates a construction of rear stay or hood stick forming a support for the material at the rear angle of the hood. V

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the same in another plane.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, 67 is the bowed portion of the rear hood stick, 68 is one of the extensions slidably connected therewith through the intermediary of the in 69 in the former engagingthe slot 70 in the latter and a pin 71 engaging the slot 72 in the bowed portion of the rear hood stick. The pins referred to are shouldered on the inside and are provided with nuts and lock-nuts adapted'to secure the adjacent faces of the bowed portion of the hood stick and the extensions thereof in contact. The pin 71 extends from the shoe 73 which is provided with grooved rollers 74 engaging the cant rail and on the pin in question is mounted a pinion 75 which engages the rack 7 6 rigidly connected with the bowed portion of the hood stick and also engages the rack 77 on the, cant rail. In addition, a pin 78 is provided on the extension of the bowed portion of the hood stick which is slidably connected with the extension 68, which latter is pivotally connected by the pin 79 with the lever 80 in turn pivotally connected by the pin 81 with some fixed portion of the body 82. In raising the hood from its lowermost position the pin 7 8 will be released by the guide 84 with which it co operates and the pinion 75 will engage the rack 77 over which it will roll, such motion causing the pinion in consequence of its engagement with the rack 76 to move the bowed portion of the hood in an outward direction until the pinion is released from the rack 77, the pin 78 then bearing upon the guide 8d secured to the cant rail.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A vehicle hood construction of the kind in which cant rails are provided above the sides of the vehicle body and shoes on the supports for the hood engage and are guided by said cant rails, comprising a support for the rear angle of the hood including a bowed portion, an extension slidably connected with each extremity of said bowed portion through the intermediary of a pin in the bowed portion engaging a slot in the extension and a pin in the extension engaging a slot in the bowed portion, a lever pivotally connected with the end of each of said extensions adjacent to the end thereof remote from the bowed portion, means whereby the ends of said levers remote from their pivotal connection with the extensions may be pivotally connected with the vehicle at a point below and to the rear of their pivotal connection with extensions, a rack rigidly connected with the bowed portion adjacent to either extremity thereof, shoes rigidly connected to the extensions and pinions rotatably mounted on said shoes adapted to engage said racks, racks on the cant rails adapted to engage said pinions and to cause the same in raising and lowering the hood to rotate and bythe engagement with the racks on the bowed portion to move the bowed portion in an outward direction relatively to the extensions in raising and to move the same in an inward direction when lowering the hood.

2. A vehicle hood construction of the kind in which cant rails are provided above the sides of the vehicle body and shoes on the supports for the hood engage and are guided by said cant rails, comprising a support for the rear angle of the hood including a bowed portion, an extension slidably connected with each extremity of said bowed portion through the intermediary of a pin in the bowed portion engaging a slot in the extension and a pin in the extension engaging a slot in the bowed portion, a lever pivotally connected with the end of each of said extensions adjacent to the end thereof remote from the bowed portion, means whereby the ends of said levers remote from their pivotal connection with the extensions may be pivotally con nected with the vehicle at a point below and to the rear of their pivotal connection with extensions, a rack rigidly connected withthe bowed portion adjacent'to either extremity thereof, shoes rigidly connected to the extensions, pinions rotatably mounted on said shoes adapted to engage said racks, racks on the cant rails adapted to engage said pinions and to cause the same in raising and lowering the hood to rotate and by the engagement with the racks on the bowed portion to move the bowed portion in an outward direction relatively to the extensions in raising and to move the same in an inward direction when lowering the hood, a projection on each of the shoes connected with each of the extensions and guide members arran ed substantially parallel with the lower rear portions of the cant rails adapted to secure the desired location of the pinions relatively to the racks on the cant rails to ensure engagement between the pinions and said racks at the appropriate position in raising the hood.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FELIX JOHN LEATHER. 

